Inside Liver King's troubling multi-day pilgrimage to Texas to 'hunt' Joe Rogan

Daily Mail​

5 hours ago

A disgraced influencer dubbed the 'Liver King' went on a manic multi-day social media spree as he traveled to Austin to hunt down Joe Rogan, where he was arrested for making 'terroristic threats' against the podcast megastar.
The fitness influencer, real name Brian Johnson, was taken into custody on Tuesday night after sharing Instagram videos of himself continuously rambling about 'fighting' the Rogan.
Johnson, 48, shared a slew of videos to his 2.9 million Instagram followers. He shot to fame in 2022 claiming his huge muscles were the result of a raw meat diet, before being exposed by Rogan as a steroid user.
In the videos before his arrest, Johnson's apparent 'roid rage' was in full view.
Johnson appeared to be talking to himself and pretending he was in conversation in some of the clips, including in one where he said to a seemingly empty room: 'I'm going to be right back, okay?'
The fitness influencer also shared videos giving himself a 'coffee enema' in the shower, and in another showed a Joe Rogan branded box with a knife ominously perched on top.
Johnson's hunt for Rogan appears to stem from his steroid scandal three years ago, as he blamed the podcaster for exacerbating his downfall after Rogan had criticized him for his dishonesty.
The 'Liver King' began documenting his pilgrimage to Austin to find Rogan three days ago, saying in an Instagram video on Sunday that, 'If I could just get a formal invitation to the Joe Rogan podcast, I could release myself from leaving tomorrow.'
The next day, Johnson shared another clip calling out Rogan to fight him, saying: 'Man to man, I'm picking a fight with you... I have no training in Jui Jitsu, you have a black belt, you should dismantle me.'
Wearing a wolf's head hat, Johnson began dancing on camera with his shirt off, saying: 'That's pretty entertaining right?'
'You can't pick a fight with a real king and then expect there not to be an actual fight, bro,' he added.
After sharing several more clips of himself aimlessly talking into the camera, Johnson shared another clip on Tuesday morning as he made his way to Austin.
He showed himself holding the Joe Rogan podcast branded box with an axe on top, saying: 'You can't buy this kind of stuff, the serial numbers are not replicable.'
Pointing his camera to the axe, he said: 'We come bearing gifts, for those that deserve it.'
'We'll see you soon,' he said as he addressed Rogan directly. 'Real tension I have with you, real f***ing beef.'
Some of his Instagram videos in recent days received millions of views, with many fans expressing concern for Johnson in the comments and urging his family to check in on him.
Speaking from a hotel room in Austin once he arrived in Rogan's hometown, Johnson claimed in an erratic shower video that he'd had a run in with police over his threats, and also showed himself giving himself a 'coffee enema.'
'I challenge you today, Joe Rogan,' he said. 'I'm here at the Four Seasons in Austin, I'm in the shower... I didn't sleep the day before, I was up for about 40 hours.'
Johnson went on a hard-to-follow rant about a run-in with police officers as he jumped back and forth from multiple topics in no logical order.
'The police are coming or something's happening... I've not threatened to kill anybody. Did somebody say that I was going to kill somebody?' he said.
'I am going to. I've picked a fight. Who have I picked a fight with? Joe Rogan... Why? Out of principle. Family.'
'I'm challenging you, just as a man. I don't want to kill you. Why would I want to kill you? You have a family. I wouldn't want to take you away from your family.
'I wouldn't want that to happen so I hope that none of this is perceived as a threat. F**k you Joe Rogan, you guys can call all the cops.'
It is understood Johnson blames Rogan for helping to unravel his supplement empire after the famed podcaster addressed his 2022 steroid scandal on air
Later, his wife shared another video purporting to show the moment he was searched and placed into a cop car by officers.
In the video, a member of his team, while filming, tells his wife that Johnson may have to spend up to 24 hours in jail as his matter is dealt with.
Johnson was seen in footage filmed by a member of his 'team' wordlessly complying with officers as they patted him down while he wore handcuffs.
Online records showed Johnson was booked by the Austin Police Department on Tuesday night and charged with making 'terroristic threats', a Class B misdemeanor.
He was hit with a $20,000 bond, however it is unclear if he has posted bail yet.
Separately, Johnson said in another deranged video that he is 'scared' and 'has PTSD' after a recent stint inside a 'Polish prison.'
'Now I'm kinda scared about going to jail when I'm around my family because then I can't do what I do, what a man does.
'You can no longer protect your family when you're in jail. That happened in Poland. I don't want that to happen again.'
He appeared to be referencing a separate incident where he was detained on August 29 at Krakow Airport in Poland moments before boarding a private jet to Houston.
Authorities found ammunition in his suitcase. Johnson received a fine and agreed to cover the costs of the investigation.
Elsewhere in his bizarre rant, Johnson revealed 'last Thanksgiving I was dying,' adding that 'the CT scan says something is in dire straits.'
Johnson had kept a relatively low profile after his steroid scandal came to light in 2022, but has resurfaced and ramped up his social media presence in the wake of a new Netflix documentary which released in April.
'Untold: The Liver King' explores his supplement empire and rise to the top by eating raw meat - specifically animal livers and testicles - on social media.
After another fitness YouTuber caught him in his bold faced lie with blood test results and a leaked email, Johnson filmed a video admitting fault.